Library and Information Science Commons^™

Government Information Research, Susie Skarl

Library Faculty Publications

Prior to the mid-1990s, much government information lay outside the mainstream of library catalogs and core indexes and, consequently, was greatly underutilized. Finding government information required negotiating cumbersome search tools, specialized indexes, and separate call number systems. By the end of the 1990s, government information had become more accessible on the World Wide Web. Although the Internet has made searching and finding government information less taxing for patrons, most still require instruction from library staff in order to satisfy their needs in the best possible manner.